Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,534 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.5% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $196.98 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.55 and a 1-year high of $202.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.55.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total value of $234,331.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,516,745.58. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.